Rich Brooks receives a well-deserved honor, plus Kentucky football betting trends
Random notes:
▪ Kudos to UK for naming the renovated Nutter Field House field turf for Rich Brooks and his wife Karen. Brooks will always be an underrated coach in UK football history. After taking over a program on probation, Brooks led the Cats to four consecutive bowl appearances. He was -- and probably is -- a coach who could coach every position on the field.
▪ Retail sports betting begins in Kentucky on Sept. 7. That’s the same day Murray State plays at Louisville in college football. Two days later, Kentucky welcomes Eastern Kentucky to Kroger Field. And yes, Kentuckians will be allowed to bet on college sports.
▪ File away for reference: Kentucky football was 8-5-0 against the spread in 2022; 9-3-1 against the spread in 2021.
▪ File away for reference: Under Mark Stoops, Kentucky is 8-23 straight up against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, including 3-5 over the past two seasons. UK is 1-16 against AP Top 10 teams. The Cats are 2-4 under Stoops when both teams are ranked.
▪ One more: Under Stoops, Kentucky is 26-24 straight up against SEC East teams not named Georgia. The Cats are 0-10 against the Bulldogs.
▪ Quick UK basketball note: In last week’s interviews with Kentucky basketball players, sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso raved about new assistant coach John Welch.
“He’s really good. He’s really good,” said Onyenso of the former NBA assistant. “He’s taught me things I didn’t know about myself. Practicing with him, it’s really been amazing for me. It’s really going to help me long-term.”
▪ So Bob Huggins was arrested for DUI at three times the legal limit, was blocking traffic in Pittsburgh when he thought he was in Columbus, Ohio and now says he didn’t resign from his job as West Virginia’s basketball coach, even though WVU insists he did. It’s hard to feel sorry for Huggs.
▪ Same for Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald, who after initially being suspended for two week following an investigation into hazing practices on his team, was fired Monday.
Fitzgerald was fired after the Northwestern student newspaper provided details about problems in the football program. The student reporters conducted a more thorough investigation than did the administration.
▪ With Fitzgerald’s firing, UK’s Stoops and North Carolina State’s Dave Doeren are tied for eighth in seniority among FBS coaches.
▪ The first-place Cincinnati Reds open the post All-Star break with a key 10-game homestand. Milwaukee comes to Great American Ball Park for three games, July 14-16. San Francisco is in town for four games, July 17-20. Then Arizona closes out Cincinnati’s homestand, July 21-23.
The Reds hit the break at 49-41. Milwaukee is 49-42. San Francisco is 49-41. Arizona is 52-38.
▪ Phil Steele’s 2023 College Football Yearbook is out. Phil has Kentucky ranked 35th overall and predicted to finish fourth in the SEC East behind Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Phil has UK defensive tackle Deone Walker and defensive end J.J. Weaver on his first-team All-SEC list. He has offensive guard Kenneth Horsey on his second-team and running back Ray Davis on his third-team. Wide receiver Barion Brown, linebacker Trevin Wallace and safety Jordan Lovett made his fourth-team.
▪ Disappointed UK quarterback Devin Leary won’t be in Nashville next week for SEC Football Media Days. Can understand the reasoning, though. Leary arrived on campus before spring football. He wants to earn the leadership role.
▪ Louisville football signee TJ Capers has re-classified to 2023 and will reportedly join the Cardinals this week. Capers is a four-star edge rusher out of Miami.
▪ Given Tommy Tuberville’s recent comments, it’s really difficult to understand how ex-Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was able to recruit.
▪ Sorry, but I don’t get the idea of the in-season NBA Cup scheduled for the 2023-24 season. What’s the incentive? I know the winners get $500,000 per player, but isn’t that a drop in the player salary bucket?
▪ Former Boise State and Washington coach Chris Petersen on what you need to be a successful coach: “You need three things: A patient wife, a loyal dog and a great quarterback. Not necessarily in that order.”
